Gene Simmons Responds to Newly Filed Sexual Battery Lawsuit

Gene Simmons has denied the sexual battery and gender violence allegations made in a newly filed lawsuit, which claims that the Kiss bassist forced a radio personality who was interviewing him to put her hand on his knee and then groped her.

"I intend to defend myself against any alleged charges you may have been reading about in the media," Simmons said in a statement sent to Ultimate Classic Rock. "For the record, I did not assault the person making these accusations in the manner alleged in the complaint or harm her in any way. I am conferring with my lawyers with the aim of vigorously countering these allegations. And, I look forward to my day in court where the evidence will prove my innocence."

On Friday, TMZ learned an unknown woman - described as a “long-time on-air personality for a local rock station" who wished to preserve her anonymity - had filed suit against Simmons. “My client is embarrassed and humiliated by the incident with Mr. Simmons,” lawyer Willie W. Williams told the San Bernardino Sun. “She filed suit because she wanted to make a strong statement that this behavior is unacceptable and she wants to see an end to this type of behavior."

In the lawsuit - which you can read in full below - she claimed that the incident took place while she was interviewing Simmons at the opening of the San Bernardino, Calif., Rock & Brews, a rock-themed chain restaurant of which Simmons is a co-owner. Simmons allegedly "grabbed her hand and forcibly placed it on his knee," then commented on the softness of her hand and "flicked" the interviewer's throat. Later, during a group photo, she said that Simmons touched her butt.

Last month, two women shared stories on Twitter of encounters with Simmons. The first, actress Mary E. McGlynn, said that, in a studio, she went to shake Simmons' hand, and he responded by pointing to his penis and saying, "That's the fun machine." Comics artist Tess Fowler saw McGlynn's tweet and described meeting Simmons at San Diego Comic Con in 2004. 'He hugged me and then told me I was keeping the candy away from him (hugging with just my upper body)," she wrote. "He grabbed my hips and thrust against me." When asked at the time for comment on these two claims a representative for Mr. Simmons stated, "The response is simple.. that absolutely did NOT happen."

A week prior, Simmons had earned a lifetime ban from Fox News after allegedly interrupting a staff meeting, unbuttoning his shirt and yelling, "Hey chicks, sue me." He then reportedly hit several Fox employees on their heads with the book he was promoting. Simmons apologized for his actions, but also said that the report was "highly exaggerated and misleading."

However, earlier this week he claimed the report of the Fox incident was the work of somebody who "apparently had the goods in for me" and leaked it to the press. "I did nothing," he said. "I always had people around me. Like when I come here, I've got handlers and everybody sees what I'm doing. You can't go into a public area and do anything. ... Nothing happened. I stand by every word."